Exclusive: Newcastle owners could agree huge off-field deals after twist

Newcastle United will be able to agree lucrative sponsorship deals and spend more money on new signings if the associated party transactions (APT) rules are substantially unwound, sources have told Football Insider.

Manchester City took legal action against the Premier League regarding the APT rules currently in place at an arbitration hearing in June, with two aspects of the rules deemed unlawful after the panel published its decision last month.

Newcastle were joined by Everton and Chelsea in acting as witnesses for the English champions in the case, while Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Brighton and West Ham provided evidence for the Premier League.

The Times reported on 6 November the Premier League has issued proposed amendments to the APT rules that could open the door for top-flight clubs to agree significantly more lucrative sponsorship deals.

The 20 member clubs will meet on 22 November to vote on the new proposals.

Newcastle could be handed flexibility to spend heavily

Newcastle, who are majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), have seen their progress blocked by the APT rules since the takeover went through in October 2021.

But sources have told Football Insider any significant changes to the rules will give the north-east giants more flexibility to spend heavily by agreeing sponsorship deals with parties linked to their ownership group.

Eddie Howe’s side were forced to sell the likes of Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson in June after being close to the spending limit last season, with Premier League clubs only permitted to make £105million of losses over a rolling three-year period.

Newcastle were also restricted in terms of incomings they could make over the summer, having only signed Lewis Hall, Odysseas Vlachodimos, William Osula, Lloyd Kelly and John Ruddy on permanent deals.

But that position could soon change if the APT rules are substantially unwound, with PIF being granted the license to agree large sponsorship deals with associated parties for things like the club’s training ground.

Some concerns were expressed recently on Tyneside after Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Newcastle’s chairman and the governor of PIF, revealed (via The Financial Times) the sovereign wealth fund plans to scale back its international investments.

He said PIF, which has about £720billion worth of assets, intended to cut the proportion of funds invested overseas from 30 per cent down to between 18 and 20 per cent.

But finance expert Stefan Borson told Football Insider those plans will have no impact on Newcastle’s progress moving forward.

In other news, Newcastle are braced for new leaks to emerge after probe update, says expert.

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